Alert fire brigade saves shops, but too late for one

LINDA SOKO TEMBO writes  QUICK response by the Lusaka City Council (LCC) Fire Brigade on Wednesday  prevented fire which gutted shop No. 58 at Mtenderemarket from spreading to other shops. LCC public relations manager, George Sichimba said that the incident happened around 18:16 on June 23 and that when the fire fighters reached the scene they found the shop burning from inside and had to force the door open to access the shop and extinguish the fire. In a statement, Mr Sichimba said that unfortunately by the time the fire was being extinguished the shop and the goods had extensively been damaged. The value of the goods burnt and the actual cause of fire was not yet established. Mr Sichimba said that some traders at the market claimed that earlier in the day the place was load managed by ZESCO and when power was restored they just saw smoke coming out from the shop. “Traders also claimed that during the day the owner of the shop was seen restocking the shop with new commodities. The team of officers from LCC fire brigade and ZESCO are however still investigating the actual cause of fire,” he said.  Mr Sichimba advised the residents to ensure that they switch off all electrical appliances when their respective areas were load managed and that those operating in markets should make sure that they did not leave any sources of fire or electrical appliances unattended to. “Because of the cold weather being experienced, many people are using all sorts of sources of heat such as fire to warm themselves but such fires should be put off before going to sleep or leaving the premises,” he said.  Mr Sichimba said that the residents in general should take all fire prevention sensitization measures and messages seriously to prevent fires during this fire prone season. The Sun